Internal friction study on oxygen vacancies and domain walls in Pb(Zr, Ti)O3 ceramics

The internal friction of Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 ceramics was measured above room temperature at low frequencies by using an inverted torsion pendulum. Two obvious relaxation peaks were observed at 420 and 560 K, respectively, on the internal friction versus temperature curves. The activation parameters were calculated by means of the peak shift method. The activation energy of the peak around 420 K was equal to 1.04 eV, and its relaxation mechanism was attributed to the stress-induced migration of oxygen vacancies, which would make it possible to determine the concentration of oxygen vacancies by the peak height of this peak. The peak around 560 K was related to a complex mechanism including the viscous motion of domain walls and the interaction between domain walls and point defects.